October 31 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's utilities regulator said that it expects to approve a wholesale price of natural gas for November lower than 130 levs ($65.96/66.46 euro) per MWh, significantly below the initial proposal of public supplier Bulgargaz.
Thus, the price will be lower than 166.14 levs per MWh proposed by Bulgargaz earlier this month, the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) said in a statement on Friday.
The wholesale price of natural gas for October is 233.36 levs per MWh, which is already 34% lower than the September price.
Aside from the larger volumes of gas delivered from Azerbaijan through the recently commissioned Greece-Bulgaria interconnector, the likely cut in the price valid for November is being made possible by the sharp drop in gas prices on international spot markets and the extremely favourable discounts achieved in the recent tenders for the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Bulgaria, Bulgargaz CEO Denitsa Zlateva said.
The public supplier continues to pump additional volumes in the underground gas storage at Chiren, which is currently 88% full and will be 90% full by November 1 at the current rate of gas injection, above the EU requirement of 80%.
If the EWRC approves a price below 130 levs per MW, this would be the lowest price achieved since the month of March, the regulator noted.
The expected decrease in the price of natural gas will also mean that the regulator will not need to raise the prices of heating and hot water from January 1, 2023, according to the statement.
The EWRC will approve the definitive wholesale price of natural has for November on Tuesday, once it receives Bulgargaz's final proposal earlier that day.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)
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